Harry Brearley:Discoverer of Stainless Steel

Story: Christina White & members of Burngreave Local History Group

Images: Sheffield Local Studies Library

2013 marks a century since Pitsmoor-born and -raised metallurgist, Harry Brearley, made his historic discovery of stainless steel. As the city begins its celebration of Harry's discovery, Burngreave Local History Group highlights the important connection our area has with one of Sheffield's most important figures.

Harry Brearley was born on 18th February 1871, in a back yard off Spital Street, Pitsmoor, in what was known as a House, Chamber and Garret. The House was less than twelve feet square and nine people lived within its walls. Harry’s father worked in the steel works and his mother took in washing. When he was about five years old, Harry's family moved to a slightly larger house in Marcus Street. The 1881 Census shows Harry, aged 10, living at number 48, along with his parents, three brothers and two sisters. Marcus Street no longer exists and the area is now a green space.

Harry went to Holy Trinity School and then Woodside Board School. In his autobiographical notes, he recalls that he had only an average schooling when he was young. Although he liked to read, there were no books at home. He remembers the boys of Woodside being a ragamuffin lot – many of them having dirty faces and tangled hair. Harry went to school in a smock made of fine sacking and had a pair of clogs on his feet. His mother patched almost everything he wore until the original garment was unrecognisable.

The seating arrangements in the house were very limited. Harry’s mother had a rocking chair and his father a spindle armchair. The children stood round the table to eat at meal-times and were encouraged to go out afterwards as they were in the way – unless they were in bed.

Much of Harry's spare time was spent in the backyard factories and “Little Mesters” workshops which existed around Woodside and Nursery Street or in the railway station at the bottom of Champs Hill where he would help the drovers drive the cattle from the station to the shambles (abattoir). He loved to play at marbles, pegtop and peggy.

Working Days

Harry started work at the tender age of 11, working in a clog shop. He was a fetcher and carrier and the hours were long. The day began at eight in the morning and finished at eleven at night and Harry was tired out and miserable.

Eventually he got a job as a ‘cellar lad’ at Thomas Firth & Sons. He fetched and carried for the men working on one of the crucible steel-making furnaces. The work was hard and Harry was not a robust lad but his brother Arthur worked as the cellar lad in the next furnace and he helped him with the heavy work. He started work at half past five in the morning and finished at half past six in the evening.­

In October 1883, a new chemist took charge of the laboratory at Norfolk Works owned by Thomas Firth & Sons. His name was James Taylor and he needed a bottle washer. Harry got the job. As Taylor got to know Harry, he encouraged him to read more and provided him with chemistry and algebra books. Taylor also suggested that he attend night school where he studied mathematics, physics, German, Latin and literary subjects. He eventually became an assistant in the lab. Taylor left for Australia shortly after Harry was made assistant. This loss was made worse by the death of his mother. Both events were great blows to him.

Harry continued with his studies and would sometimes read for six hours a day. When he was twenty-four, he got married and went to live in a cottage on the edge of the Derbyshire moors. He was now earning £2 per week but was still very poor. He made all the furniture for the cottage and repaired the household shoes.

Between 1895 and 1902, he started to write articles for the Chemical News and other journals and went to work as a chemist for C W Kayser.

Research Work

After spending some time in Russia, Harry was engaged by Firth’s to build a research laboratory and, in 1908, he was asked to lead a team to find ‘rustless’ steel. He discovered this by adding chromium to molten iron which produced a metal that did not rust. This was later called stainless steel. This steel was then used in the production of saucepans, cutlery and military equipment. Harry left Firth Brown’s in 1915 following a disagreement

Honoured by the city

In 1925, Harry became a director of one of the major steel works in Sheffield, Brown Bailey’s. He was made a Freeman of the City of Sheffield in 1939, an award which, upon its acceptance, Harry paid tribute to his mother. One honour that he greatly valued was the Bessemer Medal awarded to him in 1920 by the Council of the Iron and Steel Institute.

Harry died on 14th July 1948 in Torquay. He is buried in Sheffield Cathedral.

Although Harry's birthplace is now gone, the location lies closest to the Surestart Children's Centre on Spital Street.

As part of the 100-year celebrations for Harry Brearley's discovery of stainless steel, there are a number of exhibitions and events across the city:

• Rustless: The Harry Brearley Story is on at Kelham Island Museum from 1st April until 17th November.

• Designed to Shine runs at the Millennium Gallery from 16th February until 13th October.

• Burngreave Local History Group will also be hosting a talk by Robin Fielder on the life of Harry Brearley at St Catherine's Primary on March 8th at 10am.

For more information about the Local History Group please contact the Burngreave Messenger on 242 0564 or email: mail@burngreavemessenger.org

The Messenger will be joining the celebration of the life and work of Harry Brearley with a special piece in each issue this year. We are hoping to tell the story of local residents who have worked in steel their families or anyone with any memories of the steel industry near Burngreave, Pitsmoor and Fir Vale. If you would like to add your voice to the project, please contact us on 242 0564 or email: mail@burngreavemessenger.org

Harry Brearley's story is one of a collection of articles about the prominent figures and historic landmarks of Burngreave, reproduced in the local history book ‘Pitsmoor: a peek into the past’. Copies of the book are available for £7 from Burngreave Library or the Messenger.

(An edited version of this article appeared in the February 2013 edition of the Burngreave Messenger)